Overview
When I built 717Alerts.com, my goal was simple: solve a real problem for my own family—and prove how fast the right combination of AI, product thinking, and engineering can turn an idea into a production-ready service.
As co-founder and CTO of Miri Technologies, I’ve led the development of products like the X510 bonding router that have earned major industry awards at NAB and other shows, which means I’m used to building things that have to work in the real world under pressure. I brought that same mindset to 717Alerts.
The problem
Many people have someone they care about living alone—a parent, grandparent, or child—and want to know if emergency services ever get dispatched to that address while they’re away. At the same time, every community has the same everyday question: “I hear sirens… what’s going on, and is it near me?”
Public emergency dispatch data exists, but it’s not built for regular people. It’s fragmented, hard to interpret, and often disconnected from the way families and communities actually think about safety and awareness.
The approach
I approached 717Alerts as both a personal project and a proof of what a focused, AI-enabled product sprint can deliver for any organization. Key elements of the approach:
- Start with a sharp, real-world use case — “Tell me if there’s ever an emergency call at my house while I’m away.”
- Design for humans, not just data — Turn raw dispatch feeds into clear, mapped, real-time information that a non-technical user can understand in seconds.
- Use AI to compress the build cycle — Lean on AI to accelerate data processing, UX iteration, and content, so the bulk of the effort goes into architecture, reliability, and product decisions.
- Treat it like a real product, not a demo — Build it so real people can rely on it, share it, and build habits around it.
The result: 717Alerts went from idea to live, usable web service in five days.
The solution: 717Alerts.com
717Alerts is a live, real-world example of what a small, focused AI-driven build can achieve:
- Real-time awareness — Users can see emergency dispatch activity as it happens, tied to specific locations they care about.
- Address-level peace of mind — The original use case—knowing if there’s ever an emergency call at “my house” while I’m traveling—sits at the heart of the experience.
- Siren-to-answer in seconds — Instead of guessing when you hear sirens, families can quickly see where units are going and what type of incident is in progress.
- Built to extend — Because the core plumbing is solid, 717Alerts can support richer notifications, deeper mapping, and integrations with other systems over time.
This is the same pattern I use when taking products to market: establish a rock-solid core that solves a very real problem, then iterate where it creates the most value.
Impact
Even as a new service, 717Alerts has quickly become a “Why didn’t this exist before?” experience for people who discover it. It resonates because it connects directly to everyday situations:
- Checking on loved ones who live alone.
- Understanding why emergency vehicles are in the neighborhood.
- Giving clear answers when kids ask, “Where are the fire trucks going?”
Beyond the specifics of emergency alerts, 717Alerts demonstrates something broader: with the right expertise and tooling, you can turn public or internal data into products that feel personal, useful, and trustworthy—fast.
What this means for your organization
717Alerts isn’t just a cool project; it’s a template. If you’re sitting on data, processes, or ideas that “should” be more useful to your customers or team, the same approach can be applied to your world. Here’s where I can help:
- Turning messy or underused data into simple, user-facing tools or dashboards.
- Designing and delivering MVPs that are actually production-ready, not just slideware.
- Using AI to speed up the path from concept to live product—without sacrificing reliability or clarity.
- Bringing award-winning product and infrastructure experience to your AI initiatives, so they’re not just experiments, but assets you can depend on.
717Alerts shows what’s possible in five days with focused effort. Many teams have ideas they’ve talked about for months or years that could be in users’ hands just as quickly—with the right partner guiding the build.